Category Archives: Beauty

You gotta be kind to your skin, as chances are it will be the one you have for your whole life. Getting into a good skincare habit now can work wonders for your future self and keep your skin looking young and beautiful.

It’s good to start by understanding what type of skin you have – normal, oily, dry or combination – as this will guide you towards what products will work better on your skin and prevent breakouts or flaking. Then, find products to suit your skin, but keep it simple – cleanser, toner and moisturiser are a good place to build from. At the Co-op we stock a great range of natural skincare solutions including Burt’s Bees and Perfect Potion, plus our new line of Organic Surge products. Organic Surge are pure, organic and gentle on the skin, and all products are available both in-store and online.

The secrets to good skincare…

– Always take your makeup off every night (check out our new range of lush MeMeMe makeup products and tools!). If you’re a guy or not wearing makeup, it’s still good to wash the general dirt, ozone and dust off your skin to help fight any excess oil that can build up during the day. Burt’s Bees and Organic Surge have a beautiful range of cleansers to wash the day away.
– The skincare range also includes beauty wipes, which I find great for the gym or handbag if I want to refresh my skin on the go.
– Sunscreen has always been the go-to beauty product. I slather it on under makeup, buy foundations with a minimum SPF 15+, and don’t leave the house without a top up. Sunscreen is the best barrier between your beautiful skin and the sun’s damaging rays. And it’s not just for girls – guys should always wear sunscreen as well. No more redness, fade freckles naturally and prevent skin cancer! Also, if you plan to tan, get it from a can. Cancer Council sunscreens are available in-store.
– Getting a good moisturiser is very important in keeping your skin fresh and fabulous. Again, knowing your skin type will determine if you need something super moisturising or a lighter one to use sparingly.
– If your skin is looking dull or a bit bland from winter, then a good exfoliation can slough away old skin cells and let the new you shine. Be really gentle on your face and areas where the skin is thinner, like the bridge of your nose and around your eyes, as you don’t want to aggravate blood vessels in your skin.
– Lower alcohol, cigarette and fat intake and it will work wonders for your skin. Maccas for lunch can lead to breakouts and excessive amounts of alcohol can do damage inside and out.
– Keep lips kissable and smooth with Burt’s Bees lip balms.
– Sleep and exercise – sleep repairs damage, clears toxins and helps plump your skin, while exercise gets blood pumping, giving skin that healthy glow. Also, drinking plenty of water will keep your epidermis well hydrated.

As spring is making its sunny presence felt around the country, I decided to try out some of the season’s great nail trends one afternoon.

The top trends seem to be pale nails – think creamy pastels, whites and nude pinks that are subtle and girly; plus deep noir nails of dark chocolates, purples and blacks; as well as a pop of metallic gold, silver or bronze against contrasting colours.

I tried out the flash of metallics trend with butter LONDON’s bright and juicy “Jaffa” and “The Full Monty”; a vibrant gold. Jaffa really does look like the candy; one coat and it’s a deep peachy orange, two and it’s a mega statement colour not for the faint-hearted. I applied golden The Full Monty on my ring fingers as a diagonal block and, just for fun added a strip of diamantes.

The good bits: the polish was long lasting and the butter LONDON top coat made a big difference to making it chip resistant. Additionally, butter LONDON products do not contain formaldehyde, tolulene or dibutyl phthalate, which makes them safer for you and the environment. The colour is smooth and highly pigmented, so some of the bolder shades only require one coat – bonus!

The bad part: my diamantes did not last long at all. I lost one when I brushed my fringe back, and then the rest putting on a jacket – darn! At least it looked good when I started!

There is a wide range of tempting butter LONDON colours available in-store or online, from pastels and shimmers, to glitters and noirs, ensuring you stay on trend and looking sweet, no matter the season.

Brought to you by the Co-op, Pizzazz is your go-to hub for all things stylish, beautiful, healthy and YOU. Featuring a collection of the latest trends on the catwalk, cool looks for the home, health and beauty tips plus other bits and pieces, Pizzazz is a vibrant must-have on your social newsfeed.

Watch this space (and more importantly, this space) for the latest updates to keep you in-the-know. We’ll hold exciting competitions with prizes including some of our favourite beauty products and books on fashion, health and well-being. Our very own StyleScouts will also be out and about roving the uni campuses, snapping girls and guys who are looking fine in their threads… so keep a look out!

F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is taking the world by storm with its glamorous recreation of the sizzling 1920s, a world of fashion, romance and all that Jazz. A tragic warning to an unlimited lifestyle, Gatsby centers in the opulent and romantic world of uber-rich Jay Gatsby, a self-made man whose lavish lifestyle knows no bounds, held to earth only by his deep love for his sweetheart Daisy. In articulate prose, Fiztgerald sweeps angst, love triangles, passion and the decline of the American Dream.

But despite its words of caution, The Great Gatsby is the epitome of true style and the dramatic makeup that was a stand out of the era is easy to recreate. Match your slinky beaded flapper dress, t-bar Mary Janes and art deco clutch to seductive cat’s eyes, sharp Lulu bob and cupid bow lips with MORs gorgeous Little Luxuries, in-store now.

In opulent packaging reminiscent of summer days in West Egg, be a Jazz diva with MOR’s intoxicating scents of Snow Gardenia, very Daisy Buchanan, or Belladonna if you’re a striking Jordan Baker. And don’t forget in the 1920s the red lip was at a high, so perfect that pout with Cassis Noir lip nectar or any of the delicious Lip Macarons.

The Art Deco movement, with clean lines and iconic glamour transformed architecture, fashion and design in the 20s. MOR’s new range includes postcard packaged, triple milled soaps in heavenly scents and petite candles to jazz up any room.

As the person who introduced this brand to The Co-op I accept that there may be some suspicion of bias when I review one of their products, however I was so pleasantly surprised by the Orange Essence Facial Cleanser that I’d like to share my thoughts on it.

I’m a 30 something with combination skin that tends to the oily side and experiences bouts of sensitivity. When the good folk at Burt’s first asked me to sample this product I was sceptical – I’d been using a Dermalogica cleanser and was fairly happy with it. For the sake of testing a product before introducing it I decided to give it a go. It has a strong orange smell and I was expecting to have a reaction to this. I didn’t. My skin looked great and didn’t have any signs of redness or tightness. It took me a few uses to get used to my skin not feeling what I had come to know as the ‘clean’ feeling – that tightness that you get after using a strong cleanser. Now that I am used to it I love it and have continued to use it as my daily cleanser.

I was keen to try its “all natural” benefits. As with all first timers, I was a bit hesitant to try something new when my already existing beauty regime was doing OK but was pushed into giving it a try with a gift pack my Nan gave me.

Like an ordinary lotion, you squeeze a pea size amount into the palm of your hand and rub into the T-zone, concentrating on all your problem areas. The lightly scented lotion was easy to apply and the lightweight formula didn’t leave my face too heavy for foundation and blush during the day.

After a week of morning and night applications, I (along with a lot of my other friends) noticed a much smoother and almost blemish free complexion and a happier, more confident me feeling more comfortable in my own skin. Try it!

I’m a sucker for sticking to the one brand in beauty regimes so once I fell into a hole full of Burt’s Bees lip balms, tints and makeup wipes, I thought why not give another product a go (especially when I get a Members’ discount!!)

As with many of their other products, the Natural Anti-Blemish Solutions Purifying Gel Cleanser is made from natural ingredients and is light with a soft sweet scent (so far so good!). The easy to use cleanser opened up my pores getting rid of that clogging feeling that had built up in my pores during the day. My skin instantly felt smooth, not dry, and with no irritations (a success on the first day!).

So why not try it for yourself and hopefully, like me, prevent any future breakouts.

Like most girls with sensitive skin, I often find it difficult to find a product that doesn’t leave my eyes stinging or my nose and lips peeling from the harsh ingredients used in makeup remover. A girlfriend shared her Burt’s Bees White Tea Facial Cleansing Wipes with me after a long night out and, much to my surprise; it was gentle on the skin and didn’t leave that funny smell.

I pulled out one super soft moist towelette and wiped away all the dirt, oil and make up that had built up during the night of dancing (even the waterproof mascara!) It even left a light tea and cucumber scent as I finished off wiping my décolletage.

The wipes definitely cleansed too leaving my skin so smooth and surely, as it promises, I will eventually have nicely toned skin – so give them a try and grab some next time your in-store or get them online here.

First thing in the morning and last at night, the Burt’s Bees lip balm is a must in my ‘beauty’ routine helping keep my lips rejuvenated throughout the day. Upon untwisting the handy bright tin (or the recycled plastic tube, smelling the honey infused, sweet coconut with a hint of peppermint, there’s no wonder this label has become so popular among nature-loving students, busy mums with bubs and eco-conscious celebrities.

Slap on some sheer colour (my personal fav is ‘Watermelon‘) and you’re ready to go out and face the world in every season: on a hot summer day, ensuring my lips did not burn or on a chilly winter night, preventing lips from chaffing. In just 24 hours, I started to feel a significant softness to my lips – the beeswax formula really did invigorate my lips making smiling sensational and kissing so much more enjoyable!

Congratulations to Burt’s Bees on winning four awards for their products in the 2012 Australian Beauty Awards, which were announced on the 25th of September.

Burt’s Bees won the categories of Judge’s Choice Night Cream (Mass) and Reader’s Choice Body Scrub. They also won the categories of Reader’s Choice Cult Hands & Nails for their Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme, and Reader’s Choice Cult Lip for their Tinted Lip Balm in Rose.